KISS Win Rock Hall Fan Vote

The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a "fans' ballot" that will be tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2014 inductees. more on this story

AC/DC No. 1 For Christmas?

(hennemusic) An online campaign to get AC/DC to the top of the UK Christmas charts kicked off this weekend and a spokesman for the band has publicly endorsed the fan initiative.

A Facebook campaign urges fans to download AC/DC's 1979 single, "Highway To Hell", from December 15 – 21 in an effort to have the song appear as the No. 1 on the UK Christmas chart, according to The Courier.

A spokesman for the group said: "AC/DC are celebrating their 40th anniversary as we speak. They formed in late 1973 and we are a few fans who thought it would be cool to see them at the top of the Christmas tree to celebrate their milestone." more on this story

Richie Sambora Explains Why He Left Bon Jovi Tour

(Classic Rock) Richie Sambora has gone into detail about the personal issues that saw him leave Bon Jovi's world tour earlier this year, and it seems to kill off rumors of a feud with his frontman.

The guitarist insists there was "no malice" in his sudden decision to leave the band. Instead, he says he needed time away from the constant grind after 30 years.

And he says he's considering rejoining next year – although it's not a certainty. Sambora tells the Hollywood Reporter: "We were the hardest-working band in the world. You're talking 24-7 and you don't get to come home.

"I missed so much of my child's life, and you get to that place where you realise: 'Oh my god, this is so important.'"

He's spent his downtime with teenage daughter Eva and with his mum, who recently broke her hip. He says: "Everything has its time. I had some time to grow up – rock'n'roll will make you a virtual 17-year-old.

"I needed to be with the kid, go to the parent-teacher conference, take out the garbage, pick up the dog sh*t, watch her play and put on her sweet-sixteen party."

Find out how he feels about returning to Bon Jovi here.

Ace Frehley's Home Damaged In Fire

(hennemusic) A New York home owned by original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was damaged in a fire on Saturday. No one was harmed and the blazed was ruled accidental.

Yorktown (located 35 miles from New York City) fire officials received a call about the blaze at about 11 a.m. and firefighters were still on the scene at 3:30 p.m, The Journal News.

They report that the fire burned through the roof of Frehley's stone house, which was reportedly occupied by a caretaker but no one was in the house when the fire broke out. more on this story

Jake E Lee's Singer Apologizes For Bad First Show

(Classic Rock) The singer in Jake E Lee's new band Red Dragon Cartel has apologized to fans and colleagues after admitting he "f**ked up" their first-ever live show.

The band, whose debut track was unveiled last month, made their initial stage appearance at Hollywood's Whiskey A Go Go last week. But after a spate of negative reviews, mainly concentrating on Darren James Smith's vocal performance, he's taken the blame for their poor showing.

Smith says: "No excuses: I f**ked up. I can't believe the band is sticking with me. The most sincere apologies to the band and all the Jake fans. You deserved better and you're going to get it."

A band spokesman defended Smith via the Red Dragon Cartel website. Read that here.

59-Track Beatles Rarities Collection Being Released

(Gibson) A generous collection of rare Beatles material is slated for release exclusively on iTunes this week. As reported by NME.com, the 59-track album will be comprised of 15 studio outtakes and 44 live BBC tracks that were not included on 1994's Live at the BBC, or on On Air: Live at the BBC Volume 2.

Various sources have reported the new album will be titled The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, but that information is not confirmed. News of the rarities album comes fast on the heels of the announcement that the band's 13 American-version albums will be released as part of a box set called, simply, The U.S. Albums.

Slated to hit stores in North America on January 21, the box set begins with 1964's Meet the Beatles! and concludes with 1970's Hey Jude. Many of the Fab Four's American albums featured songs, mixes and album art that were different from their U.K. counterparts. more on this story

Christine McVie Explains Why She Wants Fleetwood Mac Reunion

(Classic Rock) Christine McVie has gone into detail about some of the things that make her want to rejoin Fleetwood Mac. And she says her guest appearance with the band in London in September felt like getting back on a bike she'd fallen off.

McVie still doesn't know if the reunion will actually take place. But she tells the Guardian of her 1998 retirement: "At the time, they tried to persuade me to stay so hard, but back then I'd made my mind up that I'd done enough touring. I just couldn't live out of a suitcase any more. Whereas now I would really rather like to again."

She's attended therapy and cured her fear of flying, another issue that made it tough to remain part of Mac's hectic touring schedule. In addition, McVie has been re-energised by seeing a new generation of fans discover the band's music. "I have friends with grandchildren in their teens and they've got Rumours, Tusk, all the live stuff," she says. "And they dig it, man, they really like it!" She had a lot more to say.

Rolling Stones Historic Site To Memorialized

(Classic Rock) The railway platform where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met by accident is to be marked with a blue plaque. The future Rolling Stones members ran into each other at Dartford Station on October 17, 1961, a year before the band was formed.

The pair recognised each other because they'd both attended primary school in the town some years previously. The encounter led to the formation of the Stones. And Dartford Council leader Jeremy Kite says his town are proud of the link, telling the BBC: "Fate was sealed; they started talking about playing music together. They went off and recruited Brian Jones, and the rest is history."

Meanwhile, guitarist Richards admits he's never played one of the Stones' classic tracks exactly the way he thinks it should be done – and he enjoys the ever-present challenge. more on this story

The Dead Weather Release New Song

(Radio.com) Jack White and Alison Mossheart's bluesy riff-rock are back. The Dead Weather just released into the digital sphere the new single "Open Up (That's Enough)", which will possibly appear on their new album which is slated for release in, literally wait for it, the year 2015.

As previously reported, "Open Up (That's Enough)" b/w "Rough Detective" was first released on 7-inch as part of the latest installment of Third Man's Vault subscription series. This is reportedly part of a long-term (presumably years-long) rollout campaign for the band's new album.

According to Consequence of Sound, Third Man Records states that"It's a unique long-term plan for new music from this incendiary group… The goal is that physical copies are out there first."

In an earlier press release, the label stated that these new songs "are unlike anything else the band has ever done and are both ample reminders of the ferocity of this motley collection of low-lifes, grifters and ne'er-do-wells." Listen to the new song here.

Linkin Park and The Offspring to Headline Typhoon Haiyan Benefit Show

(Radio.com) While California rock outfit Linkin Park has evolved into one of the world's biggest bands, Chester Bennington and the gang have also become quite the philanthropists, creating Music for Relief to lead charity efforts around the world.

The group announced this week that they're again putting Music for Relief into action by hosting a benefit show in L.A. with The Offspring to raise money for those affected by the catastrophic Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines last month, leaving more than 6,000 dead and 1,800 still missing.

The show is scheduled for January 11 at the Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. Music for Relief is working with the International Medical Corps on the initiative, with the latter handling much of the on the ground efforts to deliver food, water, medical assistance and more to those affected by the typhoon. more on this story

Pearl Jam Announce Summer Tour Leg

(hennemusic) Pearl Jam have announced a summer 2014 European tour in support of their latest album, "Lightning Bolt." The month-long trek begins June 16 in Amsterdam and runs to July 11 at Milton Keynes, UK.

The tour includes two festival appearances: Poland's Open'er Festival on July 3 and Belgium's Rock Werchter on July 5. A ticket pre-sale for members of Pearl Jam's fan club is underway at PearlJam.com.

Having recently wrapped up a fall North American tour, Pearl Jam head to Australia next month for a series of dates on the country's annual Big Day Out festival; the travelling 6-show event runs January 17 to February 2. more on this story

Van Halen Engineer Discusses Recording The Band's Debut Album

(hennemusic) Van Halen redefined hard rock with their 1978 self-titled debut, and engineer Donn Landee talks about recording the project in a new, and rare, interview.

Working alongside producer Ted Templeman, Landee describes the demo session for the album. "They cut 28 songs in about two hours," he tells Songwriter 101. "That's when we knew we had a band that could play."

On the first week of January 1978, Van Halen convened inside Sunset Sound's Studio 1. In order to capture the raw energy of the group's club work, Landee and Templeman decided on a no-overdubs approach.

"They'd barely had any studio experience," remembers Landee. "It was obvious that in time they would become proficient at making records, but at that point, we really wanted to get them before they really knew what they were doing - just have them come in and play and then get them out."

"So we spent very little time in pre-production; in fact, we treated the entire first album almost like it was a demo," Landee continues. "There are only a couple of spots where we added anything afterwards - on 'Runnin' With The Devil' and 'Jamie's Cryin' - and those were done in one take. And we didn't use very many tracks at all. Alex's drums were probably cut using only four mics total. Even when we moved over to Ed's 5150 studio, we still did the entire band on 16-track and had room left over at the end. You just don't need a lot of tracks to get a great sound." more on this story

Paul Rodgers Streaming Otis Redding Cover Online

(hennemusic) Paul Rodgers is sharing his cover of the Otis Redding classic, "I've Been Loving You Too Long", as a preview of "The Royal Sessions", a collection of classic R&B and soul songs redone by the Bad Company singer due in early 2014.

"I had been playing in groups since I was 13 or 14, and suddenly Otis' band became my ideal band," Rodgers tells Rolling Stone. "They played from a deeper place. The one thing I loved about blues and soul was the way they taught the world how to express such deep feelings. I was brought up in a fairly emotionally repressed kind of society in Northeast England where one didn't express emotions and was expected to keep a stiff upper lip. But I felt that the part of me that was born to be a singer needed to share these kinds of emotions, and through Otis, I found a much-yearned-for outlet for this."

Recorded at Memphis' Royal Studios, historic home of Willie Mitchell and Hi Records, "The Royal Sessions" features Rodgers' interpretations of songs by Otis Redding, Albert King and Ann Peebles, among others. Listen to the Otis Redding cover here.

Unreleased Jon Lord Song Streaming Online

(The Blues A previously-unheard track by the Jon Lord Blues Project has been released by the late Deep Purple keyboardist's estate and is now streaming online.

The track, "As Tears Go Passing By" was recorded during a brief German tour in 2011 but wasn't included on the band's live album.

The track features Maggie Bell, Zoot Money, Miller Anderson, Colin Hodgkinson and Pete York. You can check out a stream of the song here.

Phish's Mike Gordon Going Solo

(Gibson) Phish's Mike Gordon has posted a stream of the upcoming album's opening song, "Ether," on his official website, and the tune offers a taste of what to expect from Gordon's latest solo endeavor.

Gordon also has plans to head out on a North American tour in support of Overstep next year. The tour will kick off Feb. 28 at the Westcott Theatre in Syracuse, N.Y., and close out April 6 at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vt.

In Phish news, the jammers are slated to celebrate 2014 in New York City with back-to-back shows at Madison Square Garden. Check out Gordon's solo dates here.

Robert Johnson and B.B. King Songs Added To Grammy Hall of Fame

(The Blues Robert Johnson's original recording of Sweet Home Chicago and B.B. King's 3 O'Clock Blues have been added to the Grammy Hall Of Fame ahead of the 56th annual award ceremony next month.

Johnson's composition, made up from a number of other songs, was released in 1937 with the B side Walking Blues, just a year before his death. It's become one of the most frequently-covered tracks in music history.

B.B. King released his take of Lowell Fulson's 3 O'Clock Blues in 1952. It became his first hit single and also one of the top-selling singles of that year.

The Grammy Hall Of Fame has now inducted 960 recordings, which must be at least 25 years old and demonstrate considerable influence on American culture to qualify for inclusion. See who else made the list here.

Black Sabbath Post Handwritten Lyrics Online

(hennemusic) Black Sabbath have posted handwritten lyrics online to their Grammy-nominated song, "God Is Dead?", which comes from the band's latest album, "13".

The tune is a contender for "Best Rock Song" and "Best Metal Performance" at the 2014 Grammy Awards, while "13" earned a nomination for "Best Rock Album."

Sabbath's last Grammy win was for "Best Metal Performance" in 2000 for "Iron Man" from the band's "Reunion" live album. The 56th Annual Grammy Awards will be held January 26, 2014 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

See the handwritten lyrics photo here.

Volbeat and Red Dragon Cartel Added To Download Lineup

(Classic Rock) Volbeat and Jake E Lee's new band Red Dragon Cartel top the list of bands added to the bill for the 2014 Download festival. They're among the acts who'll perform at Donington Park on the weekend of June 13-15 under festival headliners Aerosmith, Linkin Park and Avenged Sevenfold.

The full list includes SikTH, Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicide Silence, Memphis May Fire, Battlecross, Arcane Roots, Thy Art Is Murder, The Amity Affliction, Avatar, Lonely The Brave and Feed The Rhino.

Volbeat frontman Michael Poulsen says: "2013 has been an amazing year – we had an absolutely fantastic UK tour with some of the most passionate crowds ever. We can't wait to tear up Download." more on this story

Black Star Riders Announce Japanese Tour

(hennemusic) Thin Lizzy offshoot Black Star Riders have announced that they will be launching a Japanese tour that will include three concerts that will be taking place next spring.

In support of their debut album, "All Hell Breaks Loose", the band will play three shows in May – one in Osaka and two in Tokyo. Tickets will go on sale February 7, 2014.

Black Star Riders are currently playing dates on a UK tour scheduled to wrap December 15 in Belfast. Last month, the group released a video for their latest single, "Kingdom Of The Lost." more on this story

Soundgarden Announces Show in Peru

(hennemusic) Soundgarden have announced a March 27 concert date at Explanada del Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru. Tickets go on sale today, December 16th.

The Peru concert, in support of their latest album, "King Animal", marks the first live show of 2014 for the Seattle rockers, and falls two days before the band begins a series of Lollapalooza dates in South America.

Soundgarden play Lollapalooza in Santiago, Chile on March 29, in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 1, and Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 5. The band's 2014 concerts will not feature drummer Matt Cameron, who will be touring throughout the year with Pearl Jam; Soundgarden have yet to announce a replacement for Cameron. more on this story

Ashley Hutchings Honored With Folk Award

(Prog) Last Thursday Albion Band founder and ex-Fairport Convention bass man Ashley Hutchings was honoured with The Gold Badge Award by the English Folk Dance And Song Society (EFDSS) in recognition of his work with traditional English folk music.

A presentation was made at King's Place in north London midway through a show by Hutchings' four-piece group The Albion Christmas Band, featuring Fairport's Simon Nicol, Kellie While and Simon Care.

It's the 15th year of the Albion Band spin-off and yet another chapter in the remarkable career of the Southgate-born bandleader, now joining the ranks of artists such as composer Vaughn Williams, Norfolk farmhand Harry Cox and US activist folksinger Peggy Seeger as part of the 115-year-old EFDSS Gold Badge roll-call.

EFDSS Chairman Alan James began with a short introduction explaining that the accolade was "one of the most amazing awards that we can give, and we are proud to give it to people who help keep the traditions of England and take them forward into centuries beyond" before handing over to iconic promoter/producer and author Joe Boyd to give a citation. more on this story

David Lee Roth Updates Commentary for Dave TV

(hennemusic) David Lee Roth has updated his commentary track on "Dave TV", his collection of videos and interviews released in 1986. Fan site the Van Halen News Desk reports the commentary was not included on his new "Greatest Hits/The Deluxe Edition" (CD+DVD) set, released last month. The Rhino collection has the full, original "Dave TV" special as part of the DVD, but without the commentary.

Roth had reportedly wanted the release to have an alternate audio track with his commentary, but for some reason, Rhino said "No" to that because of explicit language.

"Dave TV" features Roth's hugely-successful series of solo videos, including "California Girls', "Just A Gigolo/Ain't Got Nobody", "Yankee Rose" and "Crazy From The Heat." more on this story

Black Sabbath To Play Abu Dhabi

(hennemusic) Black Sabbath have announced a May 29th concert that will take place in Abu Dhabi as part of the 2014 world tour in support of their latest album, "13."

The band will play du Arena on Yas Island, with tickets going on sale Wednesday, December 18 at 1 PM local time. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.ae, selected Virgin Megastores across the UAE

Black Sabbath are currently playing a European tour, which is set to wrap up in the band's hometown of Birmingham, England on December 22. more on this story

Marillion Release 'Carol Of The Bells' Video

(Prog) Last week Prog revealed Marillion were gearing up to release a Christmas single. Their version of Carol Of The Bells is on sale now, and, as promised, the video is available to view online.

The band weren't originally planning to put the track on general release. They explained: "Every Christmas we give our fan club members a free DVD or CD. This year's offering included Carol Of The Bells – with a very amusing video to accompany it.

"The fans demanded an MP3 download so we decided to release it as a single. All the profits from the single will go to charity. We just thought it would be a bit of fun."

The Harrowing Story Behind Wings' Band on the Run

(Gibson) Making an album – even a classic album – sometimes can be an exercise in overcoming adversity. Still, the monumental troubles that Paul McCartney and Wings had to surmount to record Band on the Run, easily McCartney's best post-Beatles album, easily could have served as fodder for an epic Hollywood film.

It all began with McCartney's desire to work in a locale that was off the beaten path. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately, as it turned out), his record company, EMI, had an international presence, with recording facilities based in Bombay, Rio de Janeiro, Peking and … aha! … Lagos. Enchanted by visions of sunning on the beach by day, and recording by night, McCartney decided to gather his Wings bandmates and head for the Nigerian city, nestled on the west coast of Africa. Nevermind the fact that pre-trip inoculations to prevent cholera, typhoid, polio and a host of other potential diseases were required.

One week prior to heading for Africa, McCartney corralled his fellow Wings members to rehearse some new songs. Disputes ensued, and guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell left the band. All of a sudden, Wings was a trio consisting of McCartney, wife Linda and guitarist Denny Laine. Off the three went, upbeat and confident despite the unforeseen defection of their drummer and lead guitarist.

The studio in Lagos was decidedly ramshackle. Microphones were discovered tucked away in a cupboard, the control desk was faulty and acoustic baffles used for sound separation were nowhere to be found. Heroically, however, engineer Geoff Emerick pulled together the equipment necessary to forge onwards.

A regular daily pattern ensued. Weekday mornings were spent swimming at a local country club. In mid-afternoon, the band would make the hour-long drive to the studio, where the work sometimes went on until 4 or 5 a.m. Weekends were reserved for rest and recreation, in keeping with McCartney's reasons for choosing Lagos in the first place.

As regards the sessions, McCartney, Linda and Laine were galvanized and motivated by the defections of Seiwell and McCullough. As he had often done on his solo albums, Macca himself handled most of the lead guitar and drumming duties. Notwithstanding the technical difficulties, recording was going relatively smoothly, until one evening the McCartneys decided to take a leisurely stroll. Out of nowhere, a car pulled up, five men jumped out, and, at knifepoint, McCartney was forced to relinquish all the valuables in his possession. Among the items taken were cassettes of demos of potential Wings material.

Such was the first of a series of travails that dogged the sessions. On one occasion, McCartney collapsed in the studio, unable to catch his breath. A heart attack was initially suspected, but after a period of rest, McCartney gathered himself. The episode was later diagnosed as a bronchial spasm triggered by excessive smoking. On another occasion, a local Afro-beat star and political activist went on radio and accused McCartney of coming to Lagos to "exploit and steal" African music. To placate the accuser, McCartney agreed not to enlist help from local musicians. He also steered clear of giving any songs an "African" sound.

By the end of September of 1973, six weeks into their stay in Lagos, the Wings entourage was relieved to be headed back to London. Overdubs were added at Air Studios, including terrific orchestral arrangements by Tony Visconti, best known for his production work on albums by Marc Bolan and David Bowie. On October 28, the iconic cover photo (which featured actors Christopher Lee and James Coburn, among other celebrities) was shot. Incredibly, despite the harrowing incidents that occurred in Lagos, the album brimmed with a buoyant spirit, and was rife with such classics as "Jet" (which found McCartney paying tribute to the family's Lab puppy) and "Helen Wheels" (which did the same for McCartney's Land Rover).